


Empty Shell

by KawaiiWarrior93



Category: Cara Delevingne - Fandom, One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/F, they're mentioned here and there really, this doesn't actually really feature one direction, this was when i was still a heavy directioner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 16:10:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21200441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KawaiiWarrior93/pseuds/KawaiiWarrior93
Summary: Cara was the new student and was almost immediately drawn to the enigma that was Aoife. Someone that the student body seemed to avoid almost like the plague.





	Empty Shell

**Author's Note:**

> So Far Away by Avenged Sevenfold and Many of Horror (When We Collide) by Biffy Clyro were some inspirations for this story

One of the first things Cara Delevingne learned when she came to Brighton High 7 months ago was that you don’t mess with Aoife. If you did, you were guaranteed a trip to the nurses. She’d seen Aoife around school and wasn’t all that shocked when she could see what people meant just by looking at said girl. She held herself with an aura of not giving a fuck and dressed in nothing but skinny jeans, a white tee, moto jacket and a pair of well worn Sambas. 

But it wasn’t until lunch in the spring that Cara finally got the low down on Aoife. It was a nice day out so everyone was eating in the quad. Cara was sitting down with some people she’d become mates with when she glanced and saw that she would be able to find out what she wanted. Whenever she asked anyone about Aoife, no one would say a word. They all looked everywhere but at Cara as she waited for an answer and she was sick of that after 7 months of trying everything possible to find out about the mysterious girl that had a pull on her. Sitting down at a table near a tree were four boys that looked happy but still a bit solemn as they looked at Aoife sitting high up in the tree without a care.

“Will you guys tell me the real deal with Aoife?” Cara asks as she sits down.

The four boys turn to her not even having noticed she’d approached them at all. They looked at each other before back up at Aoife in the tree and then to Cara again.

“You’re the new girl, Cara right?” a boy with curly hair asks.

“Yeah, 7 months ago.” Cara deadpans.

“Sorry, well I’m Harry. Puppy there is Liam. Mysterious is Zayn. And idiot is Louis.” Harry says and receives an eye roll from Zayn and Liam and a smack to the back of the head Gibbs style from Louis.

“Nice to meet you.” Cara says smiling.

“So why do you want to know about Aoife? And what makes you think we know?” Zayn says with a guarded look in his eyes.

“The only thing I’ve been told about her is if I mess with her I’m guaranteed a trip to the nurses. No one will say anything else. They all just look everywhere but at me. I noticed you guys looking up at the tree with a solemn look in your eyes. Which can only mean one thing; you know her and know the deal with her.” Cara says.

The boys all look at each other before they nod their heads and Liam turns to Cara to start telling her. “We all are best mates. Well used to be. She had an identical twin brother named Niall who was the reason we were all best mates. They were originally triplets but their brother Kyle, died when they were only a few hours old. Niall and Aoife were so carefree and laid back. They talked to everyone so easily that when we were kids it didn’t seem hard to fathom that we’d be best mates for the rest of our lives. When we were all 16 is when everything changed. Keela and Niall had been out with their parents to dinner. They have an older brother Greg, who was away finishing his final year at uni. They got into an accident because of a drunk driver. Aoife was the only one to walk away from it. That’s when what you see now began to happen. Niall and her were literally inseparable. If one was sick the other wouldn’t bother hanging out, they’d take care of the other. It killed her to have lost her brother, mate, twin, her everything. She just seemed to fade away more and more as time went on. She lives with Greg and we still sometimes go over like old times but it’s always just us and Greg. She disappears a lot but always shows up eventually which is real scary if you think about it. She’s become nothing but an empty shell of her former self and no one has been able to do anything to fix her.” Liam says with tears falling down his cheeks.

Cara stares at him stunned. She can’t believe that. In that instant Cara promises herself that she’s going to be the one to fix Aoife. There’s some sort of pull that Cara feels towards Aoife and she’s not going to back down with it having blossomed over the past 7 months of just observing the girl from afar.

“People used to talk a lot when it first happened. They all put their pity and sympathy towards Aoife and she hated it. When someone would mention Niall, Aoife would just lose it because she couldn’t take the pain she felt for having lost her other half. That’s where being guaranteed a trip to the nurses comes from. No one talks about Niall when Aoife is around and will talk about what happened because Aoife will snap. With the relationship the two had, it’s extremely hard for her to let go and deal with the fact that she’s never going to see him or hear his laugh ever again.” Louis says with tears flowing down his cheeks as well.

Cara looks at the four boys to see them all crying. She knows that the promise she made she’s also going to do for these four boys. So they can get one of their best mates back. “I don’t know how well it’s going to work, but I promise you I will fix her.” Cara says as she stands up and heads inside as the bell has rung.

Louis, Zayn, Liam, and Harry all look at each other and the retreating back of Cara knowing that this what is left of the year is going to be interesting and if Cara isn’t careful, dangerous.

~

Cara was never fond of smoking as she’d had a grandmother die from lung cancer due to almost a lifetime of smoking. Not only that, but the side effects that came with breathing those toxins in never seemed appealing in the slightest. However, as Aoife blows out a stream of smoke from her mouth, Cara finds herself mesmerized. 

As Cara moves over the gravel to Aoife leaning against the brick wall, she’s not sure if this is really smart or not. She’s not sure if she’ll end up in the hospital since school has been over for several hours, so no one would find her for sometime. In the time Cara has been here, no one has been sent to the nurses because of Aoife because everyone seemed to have learned after that first fateful year..

As Cara stops right next to Aoife, she can see what used to be bright blue eyes but now the colour of a bruise, staring at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Can I have one?” Cara asks even though her head is screaming at her to not put a stick of cancer in her mouth. 

“You don’t smoke.” Aoife replies in a hauntingly beautiful Irish accent and with a snort and her eyebrow seemingly raised even higher.

“You don’t know that.” Cara says defensively.

“You’re the type of person to harp about shoving a stick of cancer in your mouth. You don’t smoke.” Aoife says as she turns to face Cara and just to be a cunt, blows the smoke into her face.

Cara knows what she’s about to do could seriously land her in the hospital but what happens instead she’s happy for. She leans forward and plucks the pack of cigarettes out of Aoife’s pocket and pulls one out. She puts the pack back, placing the stick of cancer between her lips. Since Aoife is hunched standing against the wall, Cara bends down so she’s staring straight into Aoife’s dead bruised coloured eyes as she uses Aoife’s cigarette to light her own. She stands back up and inhales then weakly coughs as she exhales. The shocked look on Aoife’s face disappears as she smirks.

It’s not the last time this happens either.

~

Cara didn’t touch alcohol before Aoife. She had an alcoholic uncle growing up that caused her to not be too fond of people drinking. Especially the circumstances revolving around her uncle. She could put up with it but only for so long and wouldn’t touch the stuff herself. 

Cara comes to find Aoife sitting down against the brick wall with a bottle in hand and she knows what it is. She sits down next to Aoife knocking their knees together knowing that’ll it piss the girl off. As Cara and Keela have been doing whatever the hell you want to call this, Cara has been slowly pushing the limits to see how far she could push Aoife without her blowing up.

“You know what this is?” Aoife asks with a smirk as she waves the bottle in front of Cara’s face.

“Alcohol.” Cara deadpans.

“It’s better than that. It’s Guinness.” Aoife says.

She takes a drink and then holds the bottle out for Cara.

“I don’t drink.” Cara says.

Aoife raises her eyebrow but doesn’t do anything. Instead she takes a long swig before setting the bottle down on the other side of her away from Cara. She turns to Cara with a smile as she moves so she’s straddling her. She grabs Cara’s face before she kisses her. Aoife bites Cara’s lip causing Cara to gasp and for Aoife to waste no time in adding her tongue and swirling it around the cavern of Cara’s mouth. Cara sits there frozen, can feel the smirk on Aoife’s face and can see it in her dizzy state once Aoife has moved away.

“What was that about not drinking?” Aoife says as she sits back against the wall and takes another drink from the bottle.

This time Cara doesn’t think twice when she’s handed the bottle of Guinness that she makes a face at and hears the musical chuckle that leaves Aoife’s mouth as she takes another swig.

~

Before Aoife, Cara couldn’t deal with people who cut and were suicidal because of her cousin. She had a cousin that had a really bad home life. Her father was the alcoholic uncle that made Cara stay away from booze. Her cousin self-harmed and attempted suicide because her home life was just too much before she cut too deep and this time she didn’t wake up in the hospital.

When she showed up one day and was handed a lighter with something in Gaelic on it, she saw the little red lines visible on Aoife’s pale skin. She found herself wanting to know the thoughts that ran through Aoife’s head as she gave herself those scars. Why she seems to think this is the only way to live now that her twin is gone. 

Cara refuses the lighter as she leans down to light her cigarette off Aoife’s. When she looks into her eyes she once again swears she can see the bright blue slowly returning before it’s instantly replaced with the bruised coloured eyes that don’t care.

“I prefer this way.” Cara says as she steps back from Aoife blowing a ring of smoke.

“Suit yourself.” Aoife says as she places the lighter in her pocket.

“Cat scratches?” Cara asks and then finds Ted Nugent’s Cat Scratch Fever playing in her head.

“Sure.” Aoife says and the lie is obvious even though she pretty much deadpans most things she says to Cara.

Cara just nods and continues to listen to Cat Scratch Fever in her head. Eventually she finds the closest thing to a genuine smile she’s ever seen on Aoife’s face. Then she realises it’s because she started humming Cat Scratch Fever. She turns her face away from Aoife as she blushes but is happy that she managed to get even the closest thing to a smile on Aoife’s face.

~

In school they don’t talk or acknowledge each other. It’s something they’ve never discussed but then they never really discuss much of anything. Mostly sit in silence against the wall either smoking or drinking but never both at the same time which Cara finds herself liking and happy for. But when they actually have conversations, Cara is absolutely amazed. They have classes together, always see each other in the corridor, but make no move to know that the other actually exists. 

Louis, Liam, Zayn, and Harry watch the two but don’t think that Cara has made any progress or think she’s even talked to Aoife. But when they ask Cara all they get in reply is a smile and then she disappears off somewhere.

~

It’s April and the school year is coming to a close in two months time. Everyday Cara would see Aoife out of the corner of her eye and then look forward to seeing her after school for several hours before Cara left leaving Aoife to continue doing what they’d been doing. However, this time she doesn’t see Aoife at all and it scares her. She remembers Liam saying that Aoife will sometimes disappear without a word and eventually show up again. Cara hopes that Aoife at least shows up at the wall today after school. She doesn’t want to think about what could’ve happened to Keela.

When Cara gets to the wall she finds it void of anyone. No sign of Aoife and even after sitting there for several hours, Aoife still hasn’t shown up. Cara tries her hardest to ignore the twisting and churning feeling in her stomach as she wills away the terrifying thoughts of what could’ve happened to Aoife. She slowly stands up and begins her walk home hoping that Aoife will show up tomorrow and nothing’s happened.

~

Instead of roaming the corridors and not giving a fuck, Aoife was sat in front of a tombstone she wishes wasn’t real and that everything was like it was two years ago before the accident. She’s curled up staring at the gray slab of cement placed in the ground to mark where the body lies. Her fingers ghost over the words ‘Niall James Horan’ before she snatches her hand back and buries her face in her knees crying. 

“Why couldn’t it have been you instead of me Ni? I’m not as strong as you. Look what’s happened to me. I’m a mess, a wreck, and a burden on Greg now. I’d rather be lying where you are than sitting here staring at what I wish wasn’t real.” Aoife mumbles into her knees.

Her chin is lifted and she looks up into the cerulean blue eyes of her twin Niall. She stares into the colour that has drained from her eyes after his death. 

“Please don’t cry Aoife. I hate to see you cry.” Niall says as he sits down and wraps his arms around his twin.

Aoife wraps her arms around Niall as she continues to sob into his chest while he sings her a song and smooths her hair as he knows it calms her down. He continues that until he knows she’s stopped and he pulls her back to take a look at her.

“All better?” Niall asks and Aoife just nods. He looks down at her wrists and his fingers ghost over the scars before he looks back up. Aoife looks guilty as she keeps her gaze down and away from Niall’s eyes. “Aoife. Please look at me.” Aoife bites her lip and looks up into Niall’s eyes that scare her as her’s used to be a mirror image. “Please don’t do this anymore. For me. You are strong and I wouldn’t wish this on you at all. Yeah I get to see mum, dad, and Kyle but you’re not there. I’d rather be here with you and with our mates.” 

Aoife looks at Niall and knows it’s all true. It’s just so hard for her to deal with as the biggest part of her life was ripped away because of a drunk driver. “I haven’t spoken to them in two years.” 

“I know. And I wish you would. They care for you just as much as they ever did but you don’t bother with any attempt they make or anyone does to help you. You have to try. But I already know that someone is trying, that girl Cara.” Niall says with a smile.

Aoife instantly flushes red and looks anywhere but at her brother. She doesn’t want to think about that because she knows it true. Whatever is going on with her and Cara is helping her and she’s not sure whether or not to be happy about it. She’s stopped cutting since the day Cara saw them and then hummed Cat Scratch Fever. There’s something about Cara that she hates and loves at the same time and it absolutely scares her. She’s known nothing but this mess of a life since Niall died with their parents in the accident. 

“Let go Aoife. It doesn’t mean you forget about me. It just means that you can live your life again. Take a chance on Cara. She’ll do you good. You need her. You care for her. I know it scares you, terrifies you but you need to do it. She’s helping you to become your old self slowly. That’s the sister I want to see when I watch over you. My other half.” Niall says smiling.

Aoife doesn’t say anything but nods her head smiling with the tears dripping down her face. Niall wipes the tears away with the pad of his thumb. He places a kiss on Aoife’s cheek before he engulfs her in a hug and the two stay that way. Niall rocks Aoife back and forth and sings softly to her. He places a kiss to her forehead as she slowly drifts off to sleep. 

When Aoife wakes up hours later it’s pitch black outside. A smile graces her lips as her hand touches Niall’s headstone. “I love you Ni and always will.” Aoife says as she gets up and makes her way through the graveyard. In the wind, she can hear Niall’s reply of ‘I love you’ and she smiles.

~

It’s been a week since Aoife has showed up to school and the brick wall after school. It’s been a week of pure torture for Cara. She has spent the week freaking out with every horrendous thought of what could’ve happened to Aoife on replay in her mind. She’s been reminded by the boys when they noticed Cara’s behavior that this was normal for Aoife. But that reminder did little to calm Cara.

The next day when Cara found herself going to the brick wall after school again she was not prepared for what she found. Leaning against the wall with the same nonchalance of not giving a fuck that she wore so effortlessly was Aoife playing with the pocket knife she’d seen her play with a few times.

“Hey.” Keela says without a care in the world and that pisses Cara off.

She finds herself right in front of Aoife gripping the front of her shirt and slamming her into the wall. She feels the blade of the knife against her face as the two stare as each other panting and pissed. She lets go of Aoife’s shirt as she steps back and although Aoife relaxes a little bit she doesn’t put the knife away.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Cara finds herself asking through gritted teeth.

“Thought you would’ve figured that out after two months.” Aoife says with a deadly icy tone.

“You disappeared for a fucking week!” Cara yells.

“I never told you to care.” Aoife says through gritted teeth.

Cara finds herself once again close to Aoife except this time she punches her. She feels the blade swipe across her cheek. When they move apart, there’s a few feet in between them as they stare at each other panting once again. This time Aoife has an evil glee on her face as she stares at Cara. Cara reaches up to her cheek when she feels something sliding down. She pulls her hand away to see red on her fingers.

“You cunt.” Cara says as she looks up at Aoife. 

Aoife stands there staring at Cara and Niall’s words ring inside her head. Cara stands there staring as Aoife’s expression softens and she sees something that almost looks like guilt on her face as she drops the knife. Neither knows who moves first but in the next instant they’re both right in front of each other. Aoife reaches up carefully with shaky hands to touch the cut on Cara’s cheek.

“I’m sorry. Does it hurt?” Aoife asks with her expression seemingly even more softened now.

Cara looks at the cuts she can see on Aoife’s wrist and then back up into Aoife’s eyes. “Probably not as much as your ‘cat scratches’.” She says and it gets another almost genuine small smile from Aoife with the reference from when she first saw the scars on Aoife’s wrists. 

Aoife doesn’t say anything as she looks at Cara. She pulls out the handkerchief that’s always in her back pocket and wipes away the blood until it’s only the smallest, tiniest of drops that come through. She throws it to the ground as she shakingly brings both her hands to cup Cara’s face. She places a gentle chaste kiss to Cara’s lips before putting their foreheads together. As Cara smiles looking at Aoife, she absolutely swears she sees blue coloured eyes instead of bruised ones.

~

Greg is surprised when Aoife comes home that night in a good mood. Something he hasn’t seen in two years. What surprises him even more is the fact that she has someone with her; a girl who he can see has a cut on her cheek that he feels probably came from Aoife. He doesn’t say anything as he watches Aoife carefully take the girl upstairs. 

Greg doesn’t say anything either, when the two girls come down and get some food to eat before heading upstairs. But he does look at Aoife’s retreating back in surprise after she kisses his cheek and murmurs goodnight just like she used to as the girls head upstairs once again. 

When he heads up to bed himself later on he stops by Aoife’s room to check on her and the girl she brought home with her that he assumes is the girl Cara, that the boys had talked about when they’ve stopped by. He finds the two cuddled together on Aoife’s small bed. The bed that used to be Niall’s that hasn’t been touched as Aoife had refused to do anything with Niall’s half of the room remains just as it had the day of the accident. He knew that Aoife wouldn’t let anyone sleep there but is surprised that she’s letting the girl sleep with her.

In the morning Greg learns that the girl is in fact Cara. When he asks Aoife what’s with the change and everything after being gone for a week he’s shocked at her reply.

“Niall.”

~

The next week was weird as the school watched Cara and Aoife hanging out and then sitting with Liam, Harry, Zayn, and Louis. No one knew what had happened, as they’d never seen the two talk or even acknowledge the other. Slowly as the week went by they showed affection to each other which just confused everybody even more. 

The following week confused the school even more as they aren’t sure what exactly happened over the weekend. Kids walk into school to see a sight they never thought they’d see before they graduated in June. Aoife was on her way to being her old self again, ditched were the badass clothes she’d been wearing for the past two years. She was seen in a football jersey and shorts with her Sambas and actually smiling, talking and laughing. But what really confused and caught the attention was Cara and Aoife together. The two were embraced like they were a couple and that thought became even clearer in the next second as the two kissed. They both pulled away smiling and then held hands as they walked down the corridor to class. The number on the back of her jersey was 8, Niall’s number. 

~

Aoife and Cara sit Indian style facing each by the wall. No cigarettes and no alcohol. Cara plays with Aoife’s fingers and Aoife watches. Cara looks over the scars on Aoife’s wrists that have faded considerably since she first saw them.

“What made you stop exactly?” Cara asks as she faintly traces the faded scars.

“You.” Aoife says smiling.

Cara looks up to meet Aoife’s eyes and gasps. Aoife’s eyes are no longer the bruised colour she’d seen for the past 9 months. They were the cerulean blue that she knew was a mirror image of Niall’s from the photos of him and Aoife she’d seen. She smiles knowing that she is slowly fixing Aoife like no one else has been able to. She leans forward and kisses Aoife happy that not only is she fixing her but also has an amazing girlfriend. 

Niall stood next to Kyle and their parents as they watched over Aoife happy that she finally seemed to be moving on with her life and not dwelling on the death of her family and especially Niall. She was no longer an empty shell.

**Author's Note:**

> This was written when I was a heavy directioner before the fandom made me lose interest and stopped caring. This was inspired by a story on tumblr that is no longer available as the account was shut down but was approved by the person whose story inspired this as I contacted her and showed it to her before posting anywhere online. This was posted on my wattpad before I deleted the account and took down all the stories I had posted there. This is the first of many that I'm re-editing and posting here.


End file.
